lehnbeuter



(No ModeL) 2 sheets-sheet 1.

J. LBHNBBUTER. v

FILE.

No. 542,266. Patented July 9, 1895.

(NO'Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. LEHNBEUTER. FILE.

No. 542,266. y Patented July 9, 1895.

NITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH LEHNBEUTER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 542,266, dated July 9,18.95.

' v 'application iiled J'nly 10, 1894. Serial No. 517,088. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.- y

Be it known that I, JOSEPH LEHNBEUTER, a citizen of the United States,'and a resident of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Files, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the aocompanyingdrawings, forming a part hereof.

My inventionI relates to improvements in a file; and it consists in thenovel arrangement and construction of parts, as will be lmore fullyhereinafter described, and set forth in the claim.

The object of my invention is to simplify the construction offile-holders which are made use of in boxes and drawers for holdingrecords, documents, dac.

I am aware that there are many devices for this purpose now in use, butbelieve that in point of simplicity, durability, and effective# ness myinvention is au improvement. It is apparent that such points ofimprovement are essential and combine in the production of an operativedevice which includes all the requirements for successful use.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an isometric .view of a drawer divided intothree compartments and each being provided with my in vention, certainparts being sectioned and cut away to illustrate the invention. Fig. 2is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through the drawer atthe center of one of the compartments. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse 6is an enlarged rear elevation of the follower.

sectional view of a portion of the drawer. Fig. 4'is an enlargedperspective view of one of the parts. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of anordinary file-box or document-holder, showing the application of myinvention thereto. Fig.

board attachment. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the same, showing therelative position of the guide-bar. Fig. 8 is an enlarged verticalsectional view of a portion of the attachment,

showing its alternateposition in relation to 2 is provided with afollower-board 5, which tition 3.

Extending longitudinally through the bottom of the drawer and in thecenter of each of the compartments 2 is an opening 6, as shown in thedrawings. Inserted in said opening 6 and held at the rear ot' the drawerin the cross-piece 7 is a rod 8, which passes through the frontline ofthe drawer and is secured in a lug 10. Said lug 10 is provided with aset-screw 11 to hold said rod 8 against slipping or turning and the lugis fastened to the frontof the drawer by screws 9 to make the samerigid. l

Adapted to` operate upon the rod S is a follower-board attachment 12,which is particularly illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. This attachmentconsists of a plate 13, provided withopenings 14 forsecuring the same tothe board 5 and backed up by a web 14', which at its lower end isintegral with the gripping portion 15 of the attachment. portion 15extends at right angles from the plate 13 and is semicircular incross-section, the bearing 16 being adapted to fit upon the upper sideof the rod 8.v

Before explaining the operation of this device I will describe theapplication of the same to a document-holder 17, which is provided witha slot or opening 18 in its bottom 19, and said holder being providedwith a similar follower-board rod and attachment, as well as the deviceshown in Fig. 4, for securing the rod.

In Fig. 8 is shown thealternate position of the attachment 12 upon therod 8. For instance, we will suppose that there are a number ofdocuments between the followerboard and the end of the le or drawer andwill note that the tendency of the papers is to push back upon the upperend of the followerboard 5. The result of this tendency, therefore, isto keep the upper end of the followerboard pushed back as far as thebearing portion 15 of the attachment 12 will allow. By pushing the lowerend of the follower-board against the documents the upper end of saidThis gripping IOO board is thrown out or backward away from thedocuments, thus locking the portion 15 against the rod 8.

In order to release the pressure of the follower-board against thedocuments to allow of their examination or removal, the said upperportion of the followerboard is pushed toward the documents, thisposition of the followerboard allowing the releasement of the portion 15against the rod 8 and allowing the followerboard and attachment to slidebackward away from the paper.

In summing up the operation we find that a slight pressure given to thelower portion of the follower-board tightens the locking attachment uponthe rod on account of the pressure exerted against the upper end of thefollower-board by the outward pressure or swelling of the upper portionof the documents when the lower portion is compressed.

Pressing against the upper portion of the followerboard causes theportion l5 of the locking attachment to release its grip upon the rod Sand t'o slide back, thus allowing any one to remove or examine thedocuments. This is attained by the dierence in the length of the upperbearing portion l5 and tbe lower bearing portion 20, which enables thegripping or locking of the upper portion at its outer extremity againstthe rod 8.

masse Practical experiments with the construe accurateness of mystatements as to the simplicity, durability, and eiectiveness of the in-Vention.

The parts are necessarily made of the best and most suitable materialfor the purpose, and it is obvious that the general design andapplication of the parts could be changed without materially alteringthe scope of my invent-ion.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is- In a bill [ile thecombination,with the bottom, sides, and front, thereof, of a rod placedin a slot formed in said bottom, a follower board, a follower attachmentto operate on said rod, said attachment comprising a Vertical portionsecured to the board, a semicircular horizontal projection, to rest oversaid rod and a looped or socketed portion at the end of the horizontalprojection said loopengaging the rod, substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOSEPH LEI-INBEUTER.

Witnesses:

ALFRED A. EICKs, HERBERT S. ROBINSON.

